The invention relates to the bearing and lubrication of an axle drive bevel pinion of a motor vehicle having at least two tapered roller bearings that are lubricated, via an oil feeding duct arranged between the bearings, by splash oil that is collected in a collecting receptacle located above the roller bearings.
This general type of bearing is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,499. In order to be able to feed a sufficient amount of splash oil to the tapered roller bearings, the bearing lug receiving them, at its exterior surface on top, is designed as a collecting bowl for splash oil. From there, an oil duct extends downward and ends in the center between the two tapered roller bearings. It is a disadvantage in this case that possible impurities and dirt particles of the splash oil cannot flow off out of the bearing area and can accumulate at the tapered roller bearings.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a bearing and the lubrication of an axle drive bevel pinion with constructively simple means so that a continuous oil flow through the bearing is ensured.
This and other objects are achieved in the present invention by providing a bearing having two tapered roller bearings that are lubricated by splash oil from an oil feeding duct between the bearings, with a joint outer race for the roller bearings. A top side of the joint outer race contains the oil feeding duct while a bottom side contains an oil return duct that is connectable with an oil sump.
Because the outer race of the tapered roller bearings at its bottom side has an oil return duct to the transmission oil sump, the splash oil flowing in at the top side of the outer race can continuously flow off below, so that no oil residues collect at the tapered roller bearings. The inflow of oil that takes place as a result of gravity is promoted by the centrifugal force caused at the tapered roller bearings. As the collecting receptacle for the splash oil, a collecting pipe is used that is inserted above the tapered roller bearings into the axle housing. With a downwardly slanted mouthpiece, the pipe projects out of the wall of the axle housing. It receives the splash oil flowing down at the interior wall of the axle housing and guides it through a lower opening to an oil duct in the housing wall that is in alignment with a downward-directed oil feeding duct of the outer race of the tapered roller bearing.
The precise assignment of the housing ducts to the oil ducts of the outer race is ensured by the fact that the outer race is flanged onto the housing. Thus, after the mounting in axial direction and in circumferential direction, the outer race has a fixed position with respect to the housing.
Before the flanging of the outer race to the housing, the bevel pinion with both tapered roller bearings is pre-assembled in the outer race. The inner races of the tapered roller bearings are prestressed with respect to the bevel pinion by means of a nut screwed onto the pinion shaft, and the tapered rollers, while the radial play is eliminated, are placed against the inner running surfaces of the outer race. This compact structural unit is inserted into the housing. The gear clearance of the bevel pinion with respect to the bevel gear can be adjusted by an adjusting disk having a certain disk thickness that is inserted between the housing and the flange of the outer race.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.